30
Gulf Times
Thursday, January 15, 2015
COMMENT
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GULF TIMES
Tendulkar venturing
into the world of movies
After 25 years pleasing
cricket lovers around the
world, Indias master
batsmen Sachin Tendulkar is
set to star in a feature-length
movie about his life
Africa Cup of
Nations is welcome
plug for its ruler
It is not unknown for African rulers to raise their
hands when it comes to the opportunity of holding a
big sports event in their battered countries.
It was no surprise then when Equatorial Guinea, a
tiny country on the West African coast, came forward
in November to host the Africa Cup of Nations.
Originally Morocco were designated as tournament
hosts. However the Moroccan government wanted the
tournament postponed in view of the Ebola epidemic
which has caused some 8,000 deaths in parts of West
Africa.
The government feared the virus could be spread
by visiting fans. However the African Football
Confederation CAF insisted the January 17-February 8
tournament should go ahead as planned.
As a result the tournament was taken away from the
North African kingdom and its team expelled.
If we postpone this event, it will be very deadly for
African football, CAF president Issa Hayatou said.
Most people in Africa are mad about football,
with even those who hardly have enough food to live
following important matches in front of cracking
televisions in bars.
No country
immediately came
forward to replace
Morocco, so it was
relief for CAF to
nd a willing host in
Equatorial Guinea.
Its national team now
takes part although
it had actually been
expelled from the
tournament in July for elding an ineligible player
during qualifying.
The country has the stadiums in place after cohosting the tournament with Gabon in 2012.
The question remains as to whether it is ethically
justied in hosting what should be a joyful sports
event in a country ravaged by poverty with, according
to critics, one of the worlds worst human rights
records.
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who gained
power in a military coup in 1979, has ruled longer
even than Zimbabwes Robert Mugabe. Human rights
organisations accuse 72-year-old Obiang and his close
followers of corruption and repression of opposition.
Lisa Misol, a Human Rights Watch expert, said
after the CAF decision: The situation in the country
is as bad - in some ways worse - as during the 2012
tournament.
Anyone who looks past the shiny new construction
near the stadiums will see that nearly half of the
population lacks clean water and basic sanitation.
The school and health systems are also poor. It is
estimated that 20% of the countrys children die
before the age of ve. Political opponents are allegedly
arrested and tortured and press freedom suppressed.
After Nigeria and Angola, the country is the
continents third largest oil producer.
The state press bureau dismisses the international
criticism as absurd accusations. Obiang needs
no promotion because his achievements for the
development of the country speak for themselves, a
statement said.
By Updesh Kapur
Doha
ast week, it emerged one of the
worlds greatest sportsmen
would be entering an exciting
new phase of an illustrious
and distinguished career.
Already a politician, writer, TV
pundit, businessman and advertising
icon, he is once again in the spotlight
by fronting the cameras for very
different reasons.
He is venturing into the world of
movies and this is no ordinary lm.
After 25 years pleasing cricket lovers
around the world, Indias master
batsmen Sachin Tendulkar is set to star
in a feature-length movie about his life.
He is to play himself becoming the
rst Asian sports star to hit the silver
screen with his own story capturing
his cricket and personal life.
The makers of the movie did not
want to make a documentary or a
typical biopic of the celebrated star,
but instead opted for a feature lm
after the now retired cricketer himself
gave the go-ahead to the project and
agreed to be part of it.
Bollywood, the renowned Indian
lm industry, has tried knocking
on his door unsuccessfully for his
services for years, and especially since
he retired from the game in 2013. The
movie fraternity has now managed
to entice him on this project but in
no way is it typically associated with
Bollywood.
It will not be a characteristic
Bollywood ick of music, song, dance
and colour as most movies are across
Indias buoyant lm industry.
Production has already begun
by a Mumbai-based lm outt.
The two-hour epic which features
contributions by personalities from
the world of sport and showbusiness,
is due for release by the end of the
year.
The film will track the
phenomenal rise of
Tendulkar
An international sports
broadcasting company has already
picked up the marketing rights for the
lms global release. James Erskine,
the London-based award-winning
writer, director and producer, has been
tasked to direct the lm based on his
years of experience making sportsbased movies.
His latest project will be a nonctional lm that captures Tendulkars
life, his ups and downs and, of course,
his on eld battles.
Tendulkar is a modest, humble
individual who hit the international
cricket circuit as a teenager aged 16.
The rest they say is history with a
career that has seen record after record
broken in the gentlemans game.
Here is a sporting icon who has
packed stadiums around the world for
his elegant and masterful strokes on
the pitch.
Tendulkar retired with more than
15,000 Test runs and nearly 20,000
one-day international runs to his
name, and is the only batsman in
history to have notched up 100
international centuries.
His achievements include winning
the one-day international World Cup
in 2011 that capped a glorious career
earning him the Bharat Ratna, Indias
highest civilian honour.
With lms made on sports stars
from basketballs Michael Jordan and
Formula Ones Ayrton Senna to the
numerous over the years on boxing
legend Muhammad Ali, one on Sachin
Tendulkar is seen as a prize asset that
has been touted around for years.
Not even the stories of soccers
David Beckham, nor Cristiano
Ronaldo have yet hit the big screen,
but are likely at some stage.
The life of Brazilian football legend
Pele is nally taking shape after many
years in the pipeline.
Having missed a release date ahead
of the 2014 FIFA Word Cup in Brazil,
the lm is now slated to secure its
long-awaited cinema release soon.
Pele has global appeal, but it is
Tendulkars movie, likely to be simply
called Tendulkar that will for sure send
Indias cricketing fans into hysteria,
and likely to show to packed cinema
halls.
News of Tendulkars movie debut
comes just weeks after the former
batsman released his long-awaited
autobiography Playing It May Way
that became a huge seller in the
cricketing world.
The lm will track the phenomenal
rise of Tendulkar, and probe areas of
his life never been heard of, or seen
before. From his life as a young boy
living in the suburbs of Mumbai, his
early days of school and cricket, his
life outside the game, to his marriage
and his global following will all be part
of the movie, aside of course the game
he played for many years.
It is perhaps a natural progression
for a personality of his status. But it
is likely to be a one off rather than a
stepping stone for more movies in the
future.
Many sports celebrities have tried,
but few have succeeded to carve a
successful career out of lms.
Former American football star O
J Simpson, ex-professional wrestler
Dwayne Johnson, soccer player Eric
Cantona have all tried in recent years,
making little impact.
For Tendulkar, a one-off lm
should be it. He would not want to
be ridiculed for performances on the
screen that would take the shine off a
fantastic career as a cricketer.
Like Pele, who has successfully
developed an ambassadorial role
around the world for more than three
decades after hanging up his boots,
Tendulkar would do well to follow suit.
Take a leaf out of David Beckhams
book. He has meandered his way
through a high-prole career in sport,
business, on the catwalk and in the
advertising world.
Beckhams ambassadorial interests
would t well with the cricketers
prole. Tendulkars appeal would
widen, image enhanced and he would
continue to maintain his legendary
status across India.
He is as much loved today as he was
during his playing days. Lets hope
movies remain singular as a one-off
for the cricket legend.
zUpdesh Kapur is a PR &
communications professional,
columnist, aviation, hospitality
and travel analyst, social and
entertainment writer. He can be
followed on twitter @updeshkapur
Equatorial
Guineas
President
Nguema has
ruled longer
than Robert
Mugabe
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Sachin Tendulkar: a sporting icon, he has packed stadiums around the world for his elegant and masterful strokes on the pitch.
Pentagon learns perils of social media exposure
By Phil Stewart
Washington/Reuters
f so-called cyber militants
want to launch another social
media attack on Americas
military, they will have plenty of
targets: the US Army alone lists more
than 2,000 links to feeds on Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube and other accounts.
In the wake of Mondays breach
of US Central Commands Twitter
and YouTube feeds by apparent
sympathisers of the Islamic State
militant group, US officials updated
passwords and some distributed tipsheets to help bolster online security.
But they showed no sign of shifting
a social media strategy that has seen
thousands of Facebook, Twitter and
other accounts blossom as the worlds
most powerful military establishes an
Internet presence that matches the
global reach of its forces.
That large online prole carries
unique risks for the military.
Its their public face, said Ben
FitzGerald at the Center for a New
American Security think tank.
So someone sitting in Baghdad
isnt going to necessarily pick up the
nuance that this is a non-military
network and not a signicant hack.
So theyre looking silly and theyre
looking weak.
The US Department of Defence has
thousands and thousands of social
media accounts, said Colonel Steve
Warren, a Pentagon spokesman. They
are seen as a fast and effective way for
the US military to communicate with
its own personnel and families about
everything from on-base social events
to power outages.
We are certainly looking at our
systems and will rene them as
needed, said Warren.
Although a review of the incident
was under way, he said, there had
been no specic department-wide
instructions issued since Monday
to strengthen security across social
media.
The Twitter and YouTube breach
is far different than the one in 2008,
when malware believed to have been
crafted by a foreign intelligence
service inltrated Central Commands
internal computer systems.
That attack was a dramatic
illustration of the risks to military
and defence-related networks
critical to US security, and triggered
a massive expansion of cyberdefense efforts.
Mondays hack also did not lead to
any theft or disclosure of classied
information, officials said. But it
delivered a highly symbolic blow
by compromising the social media
accounts of the military command
overseeing sensitive operations in Iraq
and Syria during a time of conict.
It was a reminder of the perils of
social media for an institution that
prides itself on its vast security and
image of unrivalled global power.
The hackers posted what officials
said appeared to be authentic, but
unclassied, rosters of current
and retired top brass, including
some private email addresses. They
also posted messages, including:
American soldiers, we are coming,
watch your back.
Unlike most high-prole accounts,
the Twitter feeds used by Central
Command were not veried, which
would have added another layer of
security and required harder-to-break
government email accounts to be set
up, officials told Reuters.
Still, it is unclear such steps would
have prevented the hack, which is
being investigated by the FBI and the
military.
A source familiar with the inquiries
said investigators were examining
whether cyber attackers sent
phishing messages that tricked
Central Command personnel into
revealing shared logins and password
information.
